A
bad start followed by a season saving run, and now a new dastardly blip in the
road.

The
Flames fell to the Craig Conroy bolstered LA Kings on Wednesday night by a score
of 5-2, after taking a 2-0 first period lead.

Two
straight losses, both as a result of blown two goal leads. Add in the Boston
game that featured a quick lead and some great goaltending by Miikka Kiprusoff
and you have a slight bit of a slide.

Maybe
that layoff did slow things up a tad.

It
will be interesting to see where they go from here.

On
The Line –
The Calgary Flames were coming of an uninspiring effort against the Edmonton
Oilers and were looking to regain their proper form.The Los Angels Kings are in the midst of a three game road
trip.They are on a 3 game winning
streak with 2 of the wins coming via shootout.

The
Flow – Calgary
came out flying.They had
apparently found their nasty, hard working style and led an overwhelmed Kings
team 2-0 at the end of the first period.Unfortunately
they lost it during the first intermission.The last 40 minutes of play by the Flames can be easily described with
one word – Brutal.Absolutely brutal.Hard-hitting
and crisp passes were replaced with floating and lazy no-look passes.Their skating went from 4th and 5th gear to 1st
maybe 2nd gear.They
gave the puck away, left Kings forwards open in the slot, and were unable to set
up any kind of attack over the LA blueline.At the end of the 2nd period the Flames were lucky to be still
ahead 2-1.This, however, would
change in the 3rd period.LA
continued to exploit the Flames indifferent play and they were able to put
together 4 unanswered goals (including an empty net goal with 1 minute left).

Three
Stars -
1. Mike Cammalleri – 2 goals on 3 shots.Won 64% of his faceoffs.Helped swing the momentum the Kings way by scoring their first and second
goals of the game.

2.
Mathieu Garon –
He wasn’t consistently tested with difficult saves but he did face 29 shots.With his steady play in the last 2 periods the Kings were able to
maintain their forward assault.

3.
Jeff Giuliano–
Scored his first NHL goal and it proved to be that game winner.His pesky play was a thorn in the Flames side all night.

Big
Hit –
Luc Robitaille was looking in his feet for the puck when Flames forward Darren
McCarty caught him just over the Flames blueline with a solid forearm body
check.

Big
Save –
Midway through the 1st period Flames goalie Mikka Kiprusoff stoned an
all-alone Sean Avery.Kiprusoff was
able to pinch the snap shot from the slot between his blocker arm and his pad.

The
Goat – Calgary’s
inconsistent play was the number one reason why they lost.The effort (or lack-thereof) from the entire team in the 2nd
and 3rd period was inexcusable.

Mr.
Clutch –
LA’s persistence and ability to take advantage of the Jekyll and Hyde Flames
is what won them the game.They
kept at the Flames and did not let being down 2-0 inhibit their effort.

Odds
and Ends –
Tonight was supposed to be the much-ballyhooed return of Craig Conroy to the
Saddledome.However, an injury kept
Conroy off tonight’s roster…LA didn’t get their 1st shot of the
game until 9 minutes had passed in the first period.They went on to be out shot 11-3 in the first and 29-18 at
the end of the night…Jarome Iginla took 6 shots on net and managed to score
the Flames 2nd goal… Not a single Flame finished the game in the plus
category.The worst offenders on
the night were Iginla, Langkow and Ference…Speaking of Ference; he continued
his inconsistent play that has dogged him this season.The NHL stats keepers were feeling generous tonight and only
credited him with 2 giveaways.His
lack of proper positioning cost the Flames at least one goal in the 3rd
period.He was rewarded for his
play with just over 26 minutes of ice time…Bryan Marchment can also be
fingered for causing a goal against when he inexplicable left the front of the
net to fight for the puck.That
left Cammalleri wide open and he made no mistake by potting another Kings
goal…Calgary was given 10 powerplay opportunities and managed to make them
count on 2 occasions…Robatille played the goon tonight taking 4 minor
penalties…Nothing to chose between the 2 teams in the faceoff circle.LA won 51% of the draws…Calgary had 13 giveaways on the night and just
4 takeaways…Marchment went to the dressing room in the 1st after taking a shot
in the wrist.He did (for better or
worse) return at the end of the period.

Next
up –
Friday December 23, 2005 at Vancouver Canucks.8pm.Available on CBC and
online on FAN 960am.